Woman claims her late husband was famed skyjacker

(Pace, Florida-AP) -- Remember skyjacker D.B. Cooper, who vanished after parachuting from a jetliner with 200-thousand dollars in ransom money in 1971?<br><br>A Florida woman says she believes Cooper was

Monday, July 31st 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

(Pace, Florida-AP) -- Remember skyjacker D.B. Cooper, who vanished after parachuting from a jetliner with 200-thousand dollars in ransom money in 1971?

A Florida woman says she believes Cooper was her late husband, a man she knew as Duane Weber.

Jo Weber says her husband told her his secret before he died of kidney disease in 1995 at age 70. On his deathbed, Jo Weber says he
whispered, "I'm Dan Cooper."

Cooper jumped from a Northwest Airlines plane between Tacoma, Washington, and Portland, Oregon.

The F-B-I agent who headed the investigation for nine years says Weber's story is credible and persuasive. And a forensic artist says the similarities between composite drawings of the skyjacker and contemporary photos of Duane Weber are about as close a match
as possible.

The F-B-I agent notes Duane Weber referred to the name "Dan Cooper" on his deathbed. The skyjacker bought his ticket under that name. "D.B. Cooper" was an officer's mistake that stuck.